arson

noun

ar·​son ˈär-sᵊn How to pronounce arson (audio)
: the willful or malicious burning of property (such as a building) especially with criminal or fraudulent intent
Arson was determined to be the cause of the fire.
arsonist noun
arsonous adjective

Examples of arson in a Sentence

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but investigators suspect arson. The town has suffered a rash of arson attacks. The town has suffered a rash of arsons.
Recent Examples on the Web The share price has fallen 6.5% since last Monday’s close, the day before the arson attack. Olesya Dmitracova, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 Detectives from the sheriff’s bomb/arson unit are looking into the origin and cause of the fire. Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2024 Production at Tesla's electric vehicle plant in Germany came to a standstill and workers were evacuated after a power outage that officials suspect was caused by arson. Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2024 The group has also previously claimed responsibility for another arson attack in Grünheide in 2021 during the construction of the Tesla Gigafactory. Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 6 Mar. 2024 He has been charged with two counts of arson of a vehicle of an organization receiving federal funds, the statement said. Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024 Investigators began reviewing other footage and saw that the blue Malibu followed the gray Buick around the times of the homicide and the Buick's arson. Adrienne Davis, Journal Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2024 An investigator determined the cause of that blaze, dubbed the Everitt fire, was arson. Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 2 Feb. 2024 Ducking Ukraine | Hamas gains | The other district attorney candidate holds an administrative job whereas Stebbins is the only candidate who has been in the courtroom for 26 years actually prosecuting domestic violence, rape, homicide, arson, environmental violations and child molestation cases. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'arson.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Anglo-French arsun, arson, arsoun "fire, willful setting of a destructive fire, burn on the skin, branding," going back to Gallo-Romance *ārsiōn-, ārsiō, from Latin ārdēre (perfect and supine stem ārs-) "to catch fire, burn, blaze" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at ardent

Note: Outside of Anglo-French, arsun, arson (with a by-form arsion) is sparsely attested in Old and Middle French. Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch notes that medieval attestations and later survivals are markedly regional (west and southwest France, including Normandy and Francophone Brittany). — The normal suffix of verbal action in later classical Latin and Late Latin was -tiōn-, -tiō, added to the verbal base (competing with the u-stem suffix -tus more common in earlier Latin), with the exception of a small number of formations with -iōn-, -iō (see condition entry 1, legion entry 1, region). Because the phonetic stem changes conditioned by the verbal adjective/past participle suffix -tus (Indo-European *-tos) are identical to those conditioned by -tiōn-, -tiō, new formations with this suffix in post-classical Latin and proto-Romance copy the morphophonemic alterations of the verbal adjective. This is evident in *ārsiō, formed from ārdēre. Note that the perfect ārsī and presumed (?) supine ārsum are most likely themselves analogical forms based on second-conjugation verbs such as mansī, mansum (from manēre "to wait, remain"), given that ārdēre (from āridus, ārdus "dry") cannot be of great antiquity in Latin.

First Known Use

circa 1680, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of arson was circa 1680

Dictionary Entries Near arson

Cite this Entry

“Arson.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arson. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

arson

noun
ar·​son ˈär-sᵊn How to pronounce arson (audio)
: the illegal burning of a building or other property
arsonist noun

Legal Definition

arson

noun
ar·​son ˈärs-ᵊn How to pronounce arson (audio)
: the act or crime of willfully, wrongfully, and unjustifiably setting property on fire often for the purpose of committing fraud (as on an insurance company)
arsonist noun
Etymology

Anglo-French arsoun, alteration of Old French arsin, literally, conflagration, from ars, past participle of ardre to burn

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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